Jury convicts man of drunken driving

Walnutport man says he feared officer was gay and resisted him.

May 15, 2004|By Bob Laylo Of The Morning Call

A Walnutport man testified Friday that he resisted a police officer's attempt to handcuff him after he was stopped for drunken driving because he was ordered to bend over and feared the officer was gay.

Andrew A. Kressler also told Carbon County Court jurors the police car came from behind quickly with no emergency lights, and he repeatedly swerved on Route 248 to let it pass.

When the car didn't pass, he pulled over and planned to fight the driver because he is "good with his hands," Kressler said.

His testimony elicited chuckles from jurors but didn't sway them. They deliberated about an hour before convicting Kressler, 55, of drunken driving, the only charge he faced.

The charge stemmed from a traffic stop at 12:30 a.m. May 10, 2002, by Palmerton Patrolman Michael Fedor, who later noted he is heterosexual.

According to Fedor, he was on patrol when he spotted Kressler swerving on Route 248, repeatedly crossing the center. Kressler failed field sobriety tests and resisted handcuffing, Fedor said.

Eventually, Fedor and another officer brought him under control.

Kressler refused to take a blood test.

Kressler said he had "two small beers" in a Lehighton bar when he realized he forgot his wallet and went home to get money to pay his bill. He said he was on his way back, driving 45 mph, when a car with its high beams on came up quickly and tailgated him.

He said he drove from lane to lane, trying to get the car to pass before he pulled off the road.

Kressler had clipped a newspaper article about a gay police officer and gave it to his lawyer, Christopher Shipman. Kressler asked Shipman to introduce the article, but Shipman just waved his hand at him.

Kressler also said police never asked him about taking a blood test, and said Fedor arrested him to "get a commission."